King Holds Second on Both Sides at Home Invitational

Oct 08, 2012

With Taylor Gouge's two-under par first place finish and Elizabeth Swallow's top-5 finish, King left day one of their home invitational with a pair of team second place finishes.

BRISTOL, Tenn. – After day one of the King College Invitational the men's and women's golf teams find themselves in the midst of a race for the top spot at both the team and individual level of their home tournament. Despite a rain and wind-plagued day at the Bristol Country Club, Taylor Gouge leads the pack with a two-under par performance while Elizabeth Swallow concluded her opening round with a top-five finish. Both Tornado teams either have or share second place in their respective fields.

Sophomore Taylor Gouge was one of only two players in a field of 48 to shoot under par on Monday's opening round. The Elizabethton, Tenn. native shot a 34 on both the front and back nine to make for a two-under par, 68 (34-34) first round finish, placing him atop the men's individual leaderboard. He holds a one stroke lead over Belmont Abbey's Adam Hedges.

Richard Powell (Hixson, Tenn.) gave King it's second top-10 finish after the first round of play, turning in a two-over par 72 (35-37). He finished tied for 10th position with Virginia Intermont's Walt Poston.

Ross Maietta (Bexley, England) finished a stroke back of Powell with a first round 73 (38-35). John Scott also finished in the top half of the field with a 39-36-75, good for a share of 18th place. Freshman Sam Hobday rounded out King's lineup with an 83 (40-83).

The Tornado finished in a tie for second with Belmont Abbey in the field of eight men's teams. Both the Crusaders and the Tornado finished eight-over par (288) as a team, just two strokes off the pace of leader Barton College (286).

Elizabeth Swallow (Berkshire, England) finished nine-over par (39-41-80) to lead the Lady Tornado in Monday's action. The freshman stands in a tie with Mount Olive's Virginia Lane for fifth place individually and is one of three King golfers inside the top 11 positions.

Sophomore Anna Walker shot a first-round 82 (43-39), giving her a share of seventh place overall. Senior Esther Gandarias(Madrid, Spain) rebounded from her effort at the Myrtle Beach Intercollegiate by placing herself in a tie for 11th place with a day one 84 (41-43) scorecard.

Cortnee Young (Cleveland, Tenn.) finished two strokes back of Gandarias for 14th place while junior Kerby Jones placed 24th with a 94 (44-50).

The Lady Tornado are in sole possession of second place in the women's tournament and hold a 13-strole lead over third place Limestone and Erskine (345). They currently trail tournament leader Mount Olive (321) by 11 shots. Elizabeth Swallow is seven shots behind tournament leader Emelie Andersson (38-35-73) of Mount Olive.

The second round of the King College Invitational will begin at 9 a.m. from the Bristol Country Club (Bristol, Tenn.). Conditions call for early morning frost warnings with temperatures warming up to the mid-to-high 60s by early afternoon.